New year, new decade, new coach

As the fireworks exploded over Edinburgh Castle on Hogmanay to herald the dawn of a new decade, the blazers watching events from Murrayfield will have been very glad to see the back of the old one.

The Noughties were not kind to Scotland. Despite entering them on a high, winning the last ever Five Nations Championship in 1999, the decade didn't quite go to plan. The loss on the opening weekend to then-newcomers Italy in the inaugural Six Nations Championship in 2000 set the tone for what was to be a decade of disappointment, underachievement and mediocrity.

There were, of course, some good days: three famous victories over the Auld Enemy?none of them coming at Twickenham, though?the defeat of France in 2006, and most recently taking the scalp of a southern hemisphere giant in the shape of Australia last November.

But such highlights were a rare occurrence in a decade where the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) tried desperately but hopelessly to get to grips with the rigours of professionalism.

The country did some produce some top-class operators in the form of Simon Taylor, Jason White, Mike Blair and the goal-kicking machine that is Chris Patterson, but they were too few and very far between.
While their Celtic cousins in Wales and Ireland prospered in the era of professionalism, Scotland languished; the disbanding of the Border Rievers?in the heartland of the Scottish game?illustrated the depths to which the sport has fallen in recent times. Scottish clubs between them only once managed to reach the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup; Edinburgh lost out to Toulouse in 2004. There will be no rugby nation happier to see the back of the last ten years than Scotland.

But something seems a little different now; rumours are afoot of something stirring in the east and in the west – dare we dream a dream?

While Glasgow and Edinburgh maintained the status quo of group stage elimination in this season's Heineken Cup, both have been consistently vying for top spot in the Magners League. This is due in part to steely performances such as that which saw Edinburgh best a close to full-strength Munster last October; but also to the emergence of home-grown talent that the SRU, for all their shortcomings, have managed to thus far keep in Scotland.

Glasgow is a case in point, and look a more solid side week on week with a pack that has maturity in abundance despite their tender years, and a streetwise acumen to match. In the back-row, the unit of Kelly Brown?sadly linked to with a move to Saracens?Johnnie Beattie and John Barclay is among the best the Magners League has to offer. Alas, keeping them in Scotland may prove a task beyond the SRU's capability.

Andy Robinson may have enjoyed a solid start to in his role as Scotland coach, albeit with an enormously fortunate win over Australia last November, but win he did. The tame surrender against Argentina the following week will leave him under no illusions that while there is capability a plenty in his squad, matching it with consistency is the task he must be up to.

In Ross Ford, Moray Low, Nathan Hines, and a wealth of options in the back-row, Scotland should be able to deliver a strong set-piece providing a good platform from which to attack. But the coach must help his men behind the scrum overcome their allergy to scoring tries from deep, out wide and through a variation of channels – relying on the boot of Chris Patterson no longer cuts the mustard.

This will be no overnight affair but the notable improvement at club level justifies cautious optimism for the forthcoming Six Nations. No one said it would be easy, and it won't be.